TFL Garden

Here we go again with the ugly iPhone screen shots but again, I’d rather get this up via my phone then sit in the queue as a draft. Because once I save as a draft, I procrastinate and when I put it off, I forget about it, blah blah blah. Anyway. Today, I stumbled onto The French Laundry’s gardener (farmer?)’s Instagram page and it is so lovely.

I learned the produce farmed in the garden of course goes to TFL first. I should hope so, the meals there are so expensive. The produce TFL doesn’t need goes to Bouchon and Ad Hoc in Yountville! Ad Hoc is and has always been my favorite of the Thomas Keller’s family of restaurants. The idea for Ad Hoc came from the family meals at TFL and now is its own successful establishment. The fried chicken there is really, really, really delicious. Bouchon is a typical French bistro. I actually like the food at Bouchon Bar in Beverly Hills. They have a Sunday roast for $30 per person that is super tasty.

Aaaaand here I go again blabbing about food.

The garden’s entire Instagram feed is great. They upload photos of all these fruits, vegetables, even herbs I’ve never seen before. They have six beehives and a chicken coup. There are three different colored chicken clucking around. They are so fuzzy and cute. They also feed the chicken greens vs. corn, which make the eggs and meat taste better.

Sure, farm-to-table may be a buzz word. And sounds all tree-hugger-granola-ish but the high prices of TFL are partly due to paying the staff that lovingly grows and tends to the foods served there. When lots of love and care go into growing and farming, the foods really taste better.

The feed itself is worth a look – even if you aren’t into farm-to-table. It’s great to see the U.S. embrace respectable farming, like the Japanese have done for centuries.

TFL’s Insta is here.

Also, I had to include the chicken coup’s video screen shot because the caption was so endearing!